Apps in this Guide

A CPU temperature monitor is a piece of software that reads information from one or more sensors inside your computer that track how much heat your central processing unit (CPU) is producing. Thismore

A CPU temperature monitor is a piece of software that reads information from one or more sensors inside your computer that track how much heat your central processing unit (CPU) is producing. This utility is helpful for computer builders to confirm that they've gone through the process correctly. If a CPU cooler isn't installed correctly, the computer won't run well and may shut itself down to avoid heat damage. Let's show you the best monitoring apps.

Why temperature monitoring apps use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit

Intel and AMD sell CPUs internationally, where the Celsius scale is more commonly used than Fahrenheit. Therefore they use Celsius to describe the safe operating temperatures of their chips. As a result, temperature monitor software defaults to Celsius, but there's usually a setting to change that.

Managing your monitoring app

Every time you open HWMonitor, it will automatically check for an available update and offer to download it for you. This software gets updated throughout the year as new CPUs come out -- often before these CPUs arrive in stores. So unless your computer has gone without an Internet connection for many months, it should automatically recognize your new CPU the next time you open the program.

The safe temperature ranges for your chips

Intel CPUs can usually go to about 85 degrees Celsius (about 185 degrees Fahrenheit) before they start experiencing glitches or automatic shutdowns. If your CPU is getting this hot when your computer isn't doing anything, however, that indicates that the cooling may have been installed incorrectly; in this scenario, the CPU won't stay in a safe range if you give it an intense task like playing a game. Assuming a room temperature of 21 degrees Celsius (about 73 degrees Fahrenheit), normal Intel CPU operation shouldn't exceed 80 degrees Celsius. An AMD FX CPU should be fine up to 60 C (140 F), but it's better to keep it at 55 C or lower.

Recommended CPU Temperature Monitor Apps for Windows

Open Hardware Monitor

Open Hardware Monitor provides pretty much all of the features of the paid version of HWMonitor (such as tucking the app in your system tray), for free. Unfortunately, updates to recognize new hardware are far less frequent. OHW might get one update a year, or less. But if it recognizes all your gear, it's a great alternative.